<DOC>
[108th Congress House Hearings]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access]
[DOCID: f:92565.wais]
CASTRO'S CUBA: WHAT IS THE PROPER U.S. RESPONSE TO ONGOING HUMAN RIGHTS
VIOLATIONS IN OUR HEMISPHERE?
=======================================================================
HEARING
before the
SUBCOMMITTEE ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND WELLNESS
of the
COMMITTEE ON
GOVERNMENT REFORM
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED EIGHTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
__________
OCTOBER 16, 2003
__________
Serial No. 108-120
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Government Reform
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/congress/house
http://www.house.gov/reform
______
92-565 U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 2003
____________________________________________________________________________
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COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM
TOM DAVIS, Virginia, Chairman
DAN BURTON, Indiana HENRY A. WAXMAN, California
CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut TOM LANTOS, California
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida MAJOR R. OWENS, New York
JOHN M. McHUGH, New York EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York
JOHN L. MICA, Florida PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania
MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York
STEVEN C. LaTOURETTE, Ohio ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland
DOUG OSE, California DENNIS J. KUCINICH, Ohio
RON LEWIS, Kentucky DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois
JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia JOHN F. TIERNEY, Massachusetts
TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri
CHRIS CANNON, Utah DIANE E. WATSON, California
ADAM H. PUTNAM, Florida STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts
EDWARD L. SCHROCK, Virginia CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland
JOHN J. DUNCAN, Jr., Tennessee LINDA T. SANCHEZ, California
JOHN SULLIVAN, Oklahoma C.A. ``DUTCH'' RUPPERSBERGER,
NATHAN DEAL, Georgia Maryland
CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of
TIM MURPHY, Pennsylvania Columbia
MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio JIM COOPER, Tennessee
JOHN R. CARTER, Texas CHRIS BELL, Texas
WILLIAM J. JANKLOW, South Dakota ------
MARSHA BLACKBURN, Tennessee BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
(Independent)
Peter Sirh, Staff Director
Melissa Wojciak, Deputy Staff Director
Rob Borden, Parliamentarian
Teresa Austin, Chief Clerk
Philip M. Schiliro, Minority Staff Director
Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness
DAN BURTON, Indiana, Chairman
CHRIS CANNON, Utah DIANE E. WATSON, California
CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida (Independent)
ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland
Ex Officio
TOM DAVIS, Virginia HENRY A. WAXMAN, California
Mark Walker, Staff Director
Mindi Walker, Professional Staff Member
Danielle Perraut, Clerk
Richard Butcher, Minority Professional Staff Member
C O N T E N T S
----------
Page
Hearing held on October 16, 2003................................. 1
Statement of:
Calzon, Frank, executive director, Center for a Free Cuba;
Eric Olson, advocacy director for the Americas, Amnesty
International; and Tom Malinowski, Washington Advocacy
Director, Human Rights Watch............................... 80
Noriega, Roger, Assistant Secretary for the Western
Hemisphere, State Department; Adolfo Franco, Assistant
Administrator, Latin America and the Caribbean, USAID; and
R. Richard Newcomb, Director, Office of Foreign Assets
Control, U.S. Department of Treasury....................... 19
Letters, statements, etc., submitted for the record by:
Burton, Hon. Dan, a Representative in Congress from the State
of Indiana, prepared statement of.......................... 5
Calzon, Frank, executive director, Center for a Free Cuba,
prepared statement of...................................... 99
Cummings, Hon. Elijah E., a Representative in Congress from
the State of Maryland, prepared statement of............... 111
Franco, Adolfo, Assistant Administrator, Latin America and
the Caribbean, USAID, prepared statement of................ 47
Malinowski, Tom, Washington Advocacy Director, Human Rights
Watch, prepared statement of............................... 83
Newcomb, R. Richard, Director, Office of Foreign Assets
Control, U.S. Department of Treasury, prepared statement of 53
Noriega, Roger, Assistant Secretary for the Western
Hemisphere, State Department, prepared statement of........ 23
Olson, Eric, advocacy director for the Americas, Amnesty
International, prepared statement of....................... 90
Ros-Lehtinen, Hon. Ileana, a Representative in Congress from
the State of Florida, letter dated January 23, 2003........ 13
CASTRO'S CUBA: WHAT IS THE PROPER U.S. RESPONSE TO ONGOING HUMAN RIGHTS
VIOLATIONS IN OUR HEMISPHERE?
----------
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 16, 2003
House of Representatives,
Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness,
Committee on Government Reform,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 3 p.m., in
room 2157, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Dan Burton
(chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.
Present: Representatives Burton, Watson and Ros-Lehtinen.
Staff present: Mark Walker, staff director; Mindi Walker,
Brian Fauls, and John Rowe, professional staff member; Nick
Mutton, press secretary; Danielle Perraut, clerk; Richard
Butcher, minority professional staff member; and Cecelia
Morton, minority office manager.
PLEASE PROVIDE TITLES FOR THE ABOVE MENTIONED PEOPLE!!!!!!
Mr. Burton. The Subcommittee on Human Rights and Wellness
will come to order.
I ask unanimous consent that all Members' and witnesses'
opening statements be included in the record and without
objection, so ordered.
I ask unanimous consent that all articles, exhibits,
extraneous and tabular materials referred to be included in the
record. Without objection, so ordered.
In the event of other Members attending the hearing, I ask
unanimous consent that they be permitted to serve as a member
of the subcommittee for today's hearing. Without objection, so
ordered.
The subcommittee is convening today to examine the
atrocious human rights violations Cubans continue to suffer at
the hands of their government and to discuss what the proper
U.S. response should be as a result of these blatant abuses to
help usher in a free and democratic Cuba.
Liberty and freedom-loving Cubans have been engaged in a
long fight for their island. The quest for democracy began
there over a century ago and unfortunately has yet to come to
fruition. For the last 44 years, there has been one person
standing in the way of freedom for Cuban people and that is the
Communist dictator, Fidel Castro.
Since Castro assumed control in Cuba in January 1959, human
rights and living conditions there have deteriorated
tremendously. Most Cuban people live every day in fear of their
government, thousands of which risk their lives every year to
flee the communist regime by any means necessary, even
attempting to brave the hazardous 90 mile crossing between the
United States and Cuba on little makeshift rafts.
I have always been critical of the human rights conditions
in Cuba. Seeing a need for the United States to do more to
promote democracy in Cuba, I along with my colleagues, Ileana
Ros-Lehtinen, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, Bob Menendez and others,
introduced the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity Act,
Libertad, more commonly known as the Helms-Burton Amendment in
February 1995 to seek international sanctions against the
Castro government in response to the horrific human rights
conditions at the hands of the Castro regime as well as to
prepare for a democratic Cuban nation.
A year later on February 24, 1996, Cuban Air Force fighter
planes pursued three Cessna aircraft operated by Brothers to
the Rescue volunteer pilots who surveyed the seas in search and
rescue missions to assist Cuban dissidents. Deep into
international air space, they were fired upon by the Russian
Migs and two of the Brothers to the Rescue planes were shot
down, murdering all passengers on board.
In response to the Brothers to the Rescue murders, the U.S.
Government recognized the need for stronger public policy
initiatives to send a message to Fidel Castro that his
government's actions against the Cuban people and the Brothers
to the Rescue pilots would not be tolerated. Not long after
this deplorable act, the legislation I talked about, the
Libertad bill, won overwhelming support in both the House and
the Senate and was signed into law by the President on March
12, 1996.
Since the Libertad Act became law, the Castro government
has continued to commit numerous crimes against its people. In
March of this year, the Cuban police executed a crackdown of
over 75 dissidents who were opposed to the regime sentencing
the peaceful oppositionists and journalists to jail for terms
ranging from 6 to 28 years for their supposed crimes. If you
have any doubts about what it is like, I wish everyone would
read that book ``Against All Hope'' by Armando Voladeres which
shows what kind of hell it is to be in a Castro Cuban prison.
In prison, these dissidents have been savagely beaten and
nearly starved to death for merely vocalizing criticisms of
Castro and the Cuban Government.
Seeking to address the current situation in Cuba, last week
President Bush announced that his administration will be
undertaking further initiatives to promote democracy in Cuba.
In his remarks, he stated that the United States is going to
strengthen the enforcement of travel restrictions to Cuba and
increase the inspection of travelers and Cuban goods entering
the country which he hopes will stunt the growth of the elicit
sex trade, a modern form of slavery that the Castro government
has been encouraging. The President also announced the creation
of the Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba to plan for
Cuba's transition from Stalinist-like dictatorial rule of
Castro to a free and open society.
The United States is not the only country taking a firm
stance against the Castro regime. The European Union, a group
of 15 democratic countries in Europe dedicated to promoting
peace and freedom in the world has recently been reassessing
their political, cultural and business ties with Cuba in light
of the recent dissident crackdown. The EU is currently
rethinking the funding they have been supplying to Castro's
government for economic and social programs which has helped to
prop up the obviously moribund Castro regime. The money that
goes down there doesn't get to the people; it gets to Fidel
Castro and he uses it as he pleases to prop up his government.
Facing such scrutiny from concerned nations around the
world, the Cuban Government recently barred a special envoy
from the United Nations Human Rights Commission from visiting
the island to probe human rights conditions and they continue
to deny international committees of the Red Cross to examine
the conditions in Cuban prisons. These aren't the actions of a
country that has nothing to hide. Not only has the Castro
regime stifled efforts to promote freedom and democracy in Cuba
but they have also actively been involved in the promotion of
communism and dictatorships around the world. Cuba has actively
encouraged other nations to fall under the dictatorial rule of
communism.
In an August policy report, the Hudson Institute stated,
``The Cuban Government has been providing assistance to the
fledgling Chavez regime in Venezuela to try to turn the current
democratic rule in the South American country into a communist
regime.'' It has also been concluded recently that Cuba has
been jamming U.S. commercial and governmental satellite
transmissions directed at Iran in an effort to prevent any
notion of democracy in the area.
At this time, both Cuba and Iran are pressuring the United
Nations to adopt Internet standards so that their governments
can dramatically sensor any information sent to their countries
to further shield their people from the freedom of the rest of
the world.
To gain a greater perspective on the U.S.' policy
initiatives on Cuba, we are going to hear from the Honorable
Roger Noriega, a good friend of ours who is also a former very
important staff member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. He is
now the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere
Affairs. He will be discussing ways in which President Bush's
administration plans to strengthen the current sanctions placed
on Cuba. In addition, he will speak on how the U.S. Government
will assist in the creation of a democratic Cuba and we hope
that comes very soon.
In addition, a representative of the U.S. Treasury
Department's Office of Foreign Affairs, Assets Control is here
to explain the current economic sanctions on Cuba and how the
Treasury Department enforces those restrictions. We appreciate
that.
The subcommittee will also be receiving testimony from the
Honorable Adolfo Franco, Assistant Administrator for Latin
America and the Caribbean at the U.S. Agency for International
Development. He will discuss how the United States has
initiated programs that have promoted democracy in Cuba and the
status of these initiatives.
To outline the severity of human rights violations in
present day Cuba, representatives of the human rights
organization, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the
Center for a Free Cuba are here to discuss their involvement in
bringing to light the abuses that the Cuban people continue to
suffer at the hands of Castro.
Under Fidel Castro's rule, Cuba has become a center of
poverty and depression. The Cuban people have been exploited
for the last 44 years and are continuously being kept in the
dark by the people whose duty it is to protect them. Now it is
time for the United States to take bolder actions against the
Castro regime and to once and for all bring about a change that
will give Cubans that for which they have been waiting for far
too long, and that is freedom.
I look forward to hearing more about the Bush
administration's effort to help Cubans free themselves from the
shackles of Castro and to finally take their rightful place as
a bastion of liberty and democracy in our hemisphere.
[The prepared statement of Hon. Dan Burton follows:]
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Mr. Burton. With that, Ms. Watson, do you have an opening
statement?
Ms. Watson. Yes, I do.
Mr. Burton. Ms. Watson.
Ms. Watson. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman.
The Human Rights and Wellness hearing today sends an
important message on U.S. foreign policy. This hearing will
provide more information about human rights conditions in Cuba
and the U.S. policy that results. Over the years, the overall
objective of U.S. policy toward Cuba has been to help bring
democracy and respect for human rights to the island. There
have been two main schools of thought about how to achieve that
objective. The first advocates a policy of keeping maximum
pressure on the Cuban Government until reforms are enacted,
while continuing efforts to support the Cuban people. The
second argues for our constructive engagement which would lift
some sanctions that are hurting the Cuban people and move
toward engaging Cuba in dialog.
Mr. Chairman, I feel that a complete choke hold on Cuba's
economy is the wrong approach. The U.S. sanctions of today do
not take into account changes in the world's power structure.
Fidel Castro's government is not in line with, as we know, our
U.S. doctrine but without the former Soviet Union as a partner,
the communist threat has been severely diminished. We can be
critical but not force our will upon other cultures. Continued
economic sanctions perpetuates poor conditions for the general
population of Cuba.
I would also like to point out that there are some bright
human rights developments in Cuba in a group called the Varela
Project. The Varela Project is named for the 19th Century
priest, Felix Varela, who advocated independence from Spain and
the abolition of slavery. The project referendum would call for
respect for human rights, amnesty for political prisoners,
private enterprise and changes to the country's electorial law
that would result in free and fair elections. Thousands of
signatures have been collected to date.
I am a proponent of constructive engagement but I have deep
concern over some recent human rights abuses. In March 2003, as
you have heard, the Cuban Government began a massive crackdown
that resulted in the imprisonment of independent journalists,
librarians, leaders of independent labor unions and opposition
parties, and other democracy activists, including those
supporting the Varela Project.
Seventy-five activists were arrested, subjected to summary
trials and prosecution and then received long prison terms. On
April 11, 2003, the government executed three men who had
hijacked a ferry in an attempt to reach the United States. The
executions conducted after a swift and secret trial had been
condemned around the world. On July 14, 2003, the Havana-based
Cuban Commission for Human Rights, a national reconciliation,
issued a report asserting that Cuba held 336 political
prisoners, including the 75 arrested in the March 2003
crackdown.
Mr. Chairman, human rights issues and their resolutions are
important to the relationship between the United States and
Cuba. The angst between Fidel Castro's government and the
United States has continued for far too many years. The Cuban
Government must bring Cuban legislation in line with
international human rights standards so that the human rights
of all Cuban citizens are protected.
Cuba is responsible for the treatment of its citizens but
the United States has the responsibility to pursue a foreign
policy that promotes human rights and avoids worsening the
human conditions.
I support the investigations of the Human Rights and
Wellness Subcommittee in the pursuit of acceptable guidelines
for our relationships between our different cultures. Today, I
am looking forward to the testimony because I feel we can learn
from you so that we can start on a course that will bring about
the desired changes and compromises that each one of our
cultures will have to make.
Mr. Chairman, I look forward to the testimony and I yield
the balance of my time.
Mr. Burton. Thank you, Ms. Watson.
Now, a real good buddy of mine and a fighter for freedom, a
Cuban American of the first magnitude, Ms. Ros-Lehtinen.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. I am
privileged to be a member of your subcommittee and I thank you
for holding this very significant hearing today to discuss the
ruthless human rights atrocities of the Castro regime and how
our Nation should properly respond to them. Chairman Burton is
no stranger when it comes to unmasking the violations of brutal
dictators across the world and Dan is a true friend of the
Cuban community in the United States.
I look forward to hearing the testimony of my wonderful
friends, our esteemed guests who have labored over the issue of
how to deal with Castro atrocious actions and how our freedom-
loving Nation should respond to them. Your work in the field of
human rights demonstrates the symbiotic relationship that the
governments hold with the community. We thank you gentlemen for
being here today. Ambassador Roger Noriega, the Honorable
Adolfo Franco and Richard Newcomb, you are wonderful
representatives of our Government. You serve the President
well. You know the intricacies of the U.S.-Cuba policy and
indeed the policies that we should have for the entire
hemisphere and it is always a pleasure to hear from you and to
know that you are always monitoring what actions we can take to
help the people of Cuba.
As all of us know, Mr. Chairman, brave men and women all
across Cuba have endured appalling human rights abuses
throughout Castro's repression. Even as we meet here today,
courageous advocates suffer in jail for speaking their mind and
for advocating merely for liberty and freedom, things that we
take for granted. Brave Cubans such as, Oscar Elias Biscet,
Marta Beatriz Roque, an independent economist and leading pro-
democracy advocate, are being sentenced to harsh prison terms
of 20 years. Marta Beatriz Roque had previously spent nearly 3
years in prison for publishing along with three other of her
colleagues the paper calling for democratic reforms, that is
all. Independent journalists like Fraon Rivero, dean of the
Independent Dissident Journalists, was sentenced to 20 years.
Fellow journalists including Ricardo Gonzales Alphonso, Hector
Gutierrez also received 20 year sentences. Other victims of
this wave of repression included Jose Daniel Ferrar, a member
of the Christian Liberation Movement whose penalty was
increased to death for a special request by the puppet whom the
regime has as the presiding judge. There are also independent
union labor leaders such as Oscaros Pinosa Chepe, Manuel
Vasquez Portal, Nelson Moniet Despino and Nelson Alberto Ariel.
Mr. Chairman, the list of names seems endless as the
daunting reality of what the dictatorship has done sinks into
our consciousness. Every day more and more opposition leaders
are sentenced to languish in terrible jail cells and subjected
to the most inhumane and degrading treatment. Their bodies are
week, they are rapidly deteriorating but their courage, their
spirit and their commitment to free Cuba from its enslavement
is stronger than ever. The people of Cuba deserve a democracy,
Mr. Chairman. They deserve freedom, they deserve that we help
them accomplish that goal. We cannot and indeed must not remain
silent. We cannot and must not be indifferent to the anguish
and misery endured by the Cuban people just 90 miles off the
shores of the hands of the depraved and cruel dictator and his
agents of terror.
The purpose of this hearing is to address the proper
response that our Government should take to these ongoing human
rights violations in our hemisphere, to address the suffering
and the pain that occurs every day on the island of Cuba and to
address the means and how to assure that the dictatorship of
Castro understands that our Nation takes these abuses seriously
and will not allow violations of human rights to go unpunished.
Mr. Chairman, as you know, because it is your bill, and the
provisions of the Libertad Act which you co-authored and co-
wrote, allows our Government to address the lingering pain of
the Cuban people. Provisions that restrict the travel of Cuban
officials to the United States or that withhold aid to
governments that are providing assistance to or engaging in
non-market-based trade with Cuba should be thoroughly enforced
by our Government. We must ensure that all of the provisions of
the Helms-Burton Act are enforced. These provisions were pushed
by the leadership of my good friend, Chairman Burton, and it
encourages a resilient Cuban people to believe in the
possibility of a free Cuba. Indifference breeds evil.
Indifference is the enemy of freedom. Indifference helps cloak
the deplorable actions of tyrants. Let us not become
indifferent to the plight of our fellow Cuban brothers and
sisters and seriously take a look at what our Government can
and should do to promote freedom in Cuba.
As you said, Mr. Chairman, liberty and freedom-loving
Cubans have been engaged in a long fight for their island. It
is important to remember these brave souls and their just
cause. I affirm to you that I will continue to work on behalf
of not only Cubans who suffer at the hands of a cowardly
dictator but of all people who are persecuted and prosecuted
for their beliefs and faith and the wonders of liberty.
I would like to submit for the record, two letters that I
have discussed with the administration that provide
recommendations for the vital issues we have discussed here
today.
Mr. Burton. Without objection.
[The information referred to follow:]
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Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. I thank the chairman for this opportunity
and look forward to hearing from our esteemed guests on an
issue that is true to my heart. I want to thank David Mulcher
who is also here and who does his job so well and helps so many
folks in Cuba who are suffering. I want to recognize his good
work as well.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Burton. Very good.
We have with us, as mentioned. the Honorable Roger Noriega,
the Assistant Secretary for the Western Hemisphere from the
State Department; the Honorable Adolfo Franco, the Assistant
Administrator for Latin America and the Caribbean, USAID; and
Mr. R. Richard Newcomb, Director, Office of Foreign Assets
Control, U.S. Department of Treasury.
I know this isn't necessary but this is a tradition, but
would you rise so we can swear you?
[Witnesses sworn.]
Mr. Burton. Secretary Noriega, we will start with you.
STATEMENTS OF ROGER NORIEGA, ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR THE
WESTERN HEMISPHERE, STATE DEPARTMENT; ADOLFO FRANCO, ASSISTANT
ADMINISTRATOR, LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN, USAID; AND R.
RICHARD NEWCOMB, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF FOREIGN ASSETS CONTROL,
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TREASURY
Mr. Noriega. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
I have a written statement that I would like to have
submitted for the record of this hearing and I want to thank
you very much for inviting us to discuss U.S. policy toward
Cuba. I am delighted to have an opportunity to address this
important topic. I am a little intimidated to be addressing a
topic about which the members of this committee know so much.
Nevertheless, we welcome the opportunity.
The climate for Mr. Castro is changing dramatically. Just a
few days ago, a trendy crowd in Paris, including actress
Catherine Deneuve and director, Pedro Almodovar, was chanting,
``Cuba, si. Castro, no.'' When the Bush administration and the
French Communist Party both condemn Castro's repression, we
know that Castro is in very deep trouble. How did we get here?
First, President Bush is committed to a rapid, peaceful
transition to democracy in Cuba. This administration has
extended more material support and more moral support to the
opposition than ever before. We have encouraged our European
allies to step up their contact with dissidents. Just last
Friday, the President announced several new initiatives which
we will describe in some detail to encourage a free and
democratic Cuba.
The President has dashed Castro's hopes for an
accommodation. The President has unambiguously pledged to veto
any embargo busting bills. Castro's escape route, using U.S.
tourist dollars or direct U.S. financing to prop up his police
state, has been cutoff. Castro also understands that he dare
not use the desperation of the Cuban people trying to free his
tyranny in order to blackmail the United States. We have told
the Cubans that any political manipulation of a mass migration
of Cubans to the United States would be considered a hostile
act. There is no escape route for Mr. Castro and there is no
blackmail.
There is a growing international consensus on the nature of
the Castro regime and the crying need for change. The critical
factor in the coalescence of this unprecedented multilateral
consensus on Cuba was the March crack down on civil society.
The regime is in the fight of its life and it is a fight it
will lose. As former Eastern European Presidents Vaclav Havel,
Arpad Goncz and Lech Walesa recently said, even in the wake of
repression, ``the voices of free-thinking Cubans are growing
louder. That is precisely what Castro and his government must
be worried about.'' That repression provoked our European and
some Latin American allies to denounce the regime in some of
the most dramatic and compelling terms ever.
As the committee is well aware, the right of U.S. nationals
that own claims to confiscated property in Cuba, to bring suit
under Title III of the Cuban Liberty Democratic Solidarity Act
may be suspended for 6 month periods only if the President
determines the suspension is necessary to the national
interests of the United States and expedite a transition to
democracy in Cuba.
In justifying previous waivers, this administration has
cited the growing international consensus to bring pressure for
real change in Cuba. Much has been accomplished this year in
this regard. The European Union and the European Union's
Council of Foreign Ministers joined by most of the member
governments individually condemned the arrests of the 75 Cuban
dissidents and called for their release. The EU has increased
its contacts with the Cuban dissidents despite the strong
objections of the regime.
There have been actions taken in our hemisphere including
the May declaration by 17 OAS member states citing the arrest
of 75 Cuban prisoners of conscience. Latin American nations led
the effort to pass a resolution on Cuba at the U.N. Human
Rights Commission and we would hope for strong, clear
leadership on that same subject not only in the U.N. Human
Rights Commission in Geneva, but in the context of the Ibero-
American Summit which we held this November in Bolivia.
The effectiveness of the Helms-Burton Act, particularly
Title III and Title IV is clear. Foreign investment in Cuba is
tailing off, partially because Cuba is bad for business and
partially because of the dissuasive impact that Helms-Burton
has had on potential investors. As you know, Mr. Chairman, the
Cuban regime controls the economy and is the only real employer
on the island. From its carefully controlled investment and
joint ventures, these have been very poor and risky
investments. Of the 540 joint ventures formed since the
endeavors were legalized more than 20 years ago, only 397
remained by the end of 2002. The number of joint ventures
formed each year has been steadily declining since 1996, the
year the Helms-Burton Act was passed, an increase of a mere 25
such ventures in the last 7 years since Helms-Burton was
approved by Congress. The trend lines for new investment are
dropping and we believe one reason why is the continued
pressure on foreign firms not to traffic in confiscated
property. It is clear that with Castro there can be no real
reform in Cuba.
President Bush's initiative for a new Cuba challenged the
Cuban Government to undertake meaningful political and economic
reforms and the regime has responded with more repression.
Fidel Castro is not interested in change; however, we are.
Toward that end, we are maintaining support for civil society,
working to break the information blockade imposed by Castro,
maintaining international momentum for real reform, keeping up
the pressure on human rights and confronting trafficking by
foreign corporations and properties confiscated by the regime
from Americans.
Our policy is to engage the 11 million other people in Cuba
who want to be free, not the regime that denies them this
essential right. Our policy is not to punish the Cuban people
but to break the stranglehold of the Cuban dictatorship on the
Cuban people.
President Bush outlined some initiatives on October 10 as
part of a process of increasing our support for sweeping change
in Cuba. On October 10, the President spoke of his commitment
to breaking the information blockade imposed by the regime. The
President announced three important new initiatives to support
our solidarity with the Cuban people and to help them achieve a
democratic transition. Those initial steps include the
formation of a Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba, co-
chaired by Secretary Colin Powell and Mel Martinez, the
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and comprised of
U.S. executive branch agency representatives to help prepare
the U.S. Government to provide effective assistance to a free
Cuba.
The groundwork for this sort of process is laid by Title II
of the Helms-Burton Act and the aim is to deal effectively and
decisively in a transition period to ensure that the cronies of
Fidel Castro cannot hold on to power and to ensure that there
are no accommodations with cronies of the Castro regime that
try to hold the apparatus of his dictatorship together even
after he is gone. We need to be prepared to move effectively,
decisively and to offer the Cuban people the opportunity for
real reform.
That, Mr. Chairman, is one of the key reasons for
maintaining the U.S. embargo. The question today isn't imposing
the embargo. The question today is how you go about lifting it
as a unilateral concession to a dictator who is drawing his
last breath or do you use it as leverage with a transitional
government to make sure that the economic and political reforms
are sweeping enough, deep enough that they sweep away all
traces of Castro's regime.
We also want to enforce our travel restrictions, enforce
U.S. law. Better enforcement of travel restrictions will make
it more certain that permitted travel for Americans is not
abused. Enforcement agencies already are increasing inspections
of travelers and shipments to and from Cuba and target those
who are illegally traveling to Cuba via third countries and on
private vessels.
On the migration issue, the U.S. Government must improve
the way it identifies and protects those who face persecution
in Cuba and provide them with an opportunity to come to the
United States safely. We need to resume full monitoring and we
will resume full monitoring of all returned migrants and to
hold a new lottery whether the regime approves it or not to
replenish the data base of Cubans who wish to leave Cuba
legally and safely.
We are also stepping up freedom broadcasting, making sure
that radio and TV Marti is professional and delivers an
effective message that reaches the Cuban people and overcomes
the jamming of the Castro regime.
Mr. Chairman, in conclusion, this is a crucial time for the
cause of a free Cuba. Some of our efforts including the
pressure under Helms-Burton are bearing fruit. Also, our
allies, especially in Europe, see the regime for what it is
finally and are insisting on democratic change like never
before. Even more encouraging is that Cubans of conscience with
a commitment to democracy and reform are working day by day for
change. The Bush administration will work with you to do
everything we can to support these people.
The best news is the crackdown did not crush the opposition
but rather imbued the remaining activists with a new sense of
urgency and purpose. Oswaldo Paya has reconstructed his network
of civil society activists and in a real act of defiance
recently delivered more than 13,000 additional signatures to
the regime demanding the right to a vote on their own future.
Oscar Elias Biscet, Marta Beatriz Roque and Raul Rivero are in
jail for daring to think about the future in defiance of a
dictatorship trapped in the past. Presidents Vaclav Havel,
Arpad Goncz and Lech Walesa recently wrote, as I cited earlier,
``The regime is getting nervous.'' It has reason to be nervous,
confronted with a growing civil society, confronted with
international condemnation and tough measures to ensure that
foreigners do not do business with the Cuban regime by
trafficking in property stolen from U.S. nationals.
President Bush is committed to seeing the end of the Castro
regime and just as importantly, dismantling the apparatus that
keeps him in power. We are preparing for a day when Castro's
regime and its repression are no more.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
[Note.--The information referred to may be found in
subcommittee files.]
[The prepared statement of Mr. Noriega follows:]
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Mr. Burton. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.
Mr. Franco.
Mr. Franco. Thank you for this opportunity to testify on
behalf of the U.S. Agency for International Development
concerning the continuing human rights violations of the Castro
dictatorship in Cuba and the importance of a vigorous
international response on behalf of the Cuban people.
I would request that my full statement be included in the
record.
Before proceeding to my prepared remarks, as Assistant
Secretary Noriega noted, this is a difficult committee before
which to testify because you are all so well informed on the
issue, but it is also a pleasure. I want to commend you, Mr.
Chairman, for your leadership over the years in continuing to
put the necessary pressure on the Castro regime. I think your
statement was comprehensive, articulate and certainly reflects
the views of the Bush administration.
It has been a pleasure to work with Ms. Ros-Lehtinen who
has been a stalwart leader on these issues. Your statement and
your continuing support for Section 109 and the important work
that USAID is doing to provide information on democracy and
human rights in Cuba--which I will discuss--has been
indispensable.
Ms. Watson, you and I traveled with Chairman Hyde last year
to Europe and I remember your commitment when we had
discussions on human rights and I fully share your enthusiasm
for the Veletta project and also as you said, the United States
has a responsibility to promote human rights. I would like to
discuss what we are doing to accomplish that goal which we
share.
In his testimony this afternoon, Assistant Secretary
Noriega has well described the increasingly repressive measures
taken by the Cuban State to stifle the growing civil society
movement in that country. The summary executions of three young
men, as Ms. Watson noted, who simply tried to escape
repression. The imprisonment of more than 75 new political
prisoners whose only crime was to peacefully pursue their basic
human rights in my view illustrates the true nature of the
tyrannical Castro regime.
These acts of the Cuban Government are outrageous and
indefensible but unfortunately, they are not new. Fidel Castro
has systematically repressed the Cuban people for the past 44
years as the chairman noted. What is new is the growing
strength of Cuba's peaceful democratic opposition.
Congresswoman Watson alluded to the Veletta Project as an
example of that growing movement.
Make no mistake about it, an independent civil society has
begun to emerge in Cuba and it deserves the support of free
people everywhere. Certainly we in the U.S. Government and the
American people must do what we have always done and that is to
hold high the banner of freedom and keep the flame of liberty
alive. One of the things I recall that Soviet dissidents talked
about is they always saw the West as that bright light and they
never lost hope because as Congresswoman Ros-Lehtinen has
noted, indifference does breed evil.
Since passage of your bill, Mr. Chairman, the Helms-Burton
Act of 1996, the U.S. Agency for International Development has
been instrumental in working closely with the State Department
and other U.S. non-governmental organizations to promote a
rapid, peaceful transition to democracy in Cuba. We have done
so by increasing the flow of accurate information on democracy,
human rights and free enterprise to, from and within Cuba. I
wish to note for the record this information is not U.S.
Government information but information that is freely available
in our country and in the West and includes work such as books
by Martin Luther King.
As authorized by Section 109 of the Helms-Burton law, USAID
has provided $26 million over the past 6 years to U.S. non-
governmental organizations to do the following. First, build
solidarity with Cuban human rights activists; second, give
voice to Cuba's independent journalists; third, to defend the
right of Cuban workers; fourth, to develop independent Cuban
non-governmental organizations; and last, to provide direct
outreach of information to the Cuban people.
Despite the active opposition of the Cuban Government,
USAID grantees have delivered more than 150,000 pounds of food
and medicine to the families of political prisoners and other
victims of repression in Cuba. USAID's grantees have also
provided more than 10,000 short wave radios to the Cuban
people. This enables them to listen to not only TV Marti and
the Voice of America but to the BBC, Radio Netherlands and
other uncensored international broadcasts.
USAID grantees have also sent the Cuban people more than 2
million books, newsletters, video cassettes and other
informational materials concerning democracy, human rights,
free enterprise, and literature, simple things such as
literature. In addition, USAID grantees have published
worldwide more than 9,000 reports coming from Cuba's own
growing independent journalist movement.
Most important, in my view, USAID grantees disseminate
these reports in hard copies throughout Cuba so that the Cuban
people from one end of the island to the other can learn the
names of Cuban opposition leaders, debate their ideas and draw
strength from their courage.
Mr. Chairman, as you know, the Cuban people suffer the most
basic deprivations of body as well as spirit because of the
failed policies of the Castro regime. As an example, President
Bush has repeatedly offered emergency food and humanitarian
assistance to the Cuban people. Fidel Castro has always
rejected that assistance. Castro not only denies the Cuban
people the right to vote, the right to read and the right to
speak, but he also denies the Cuban people the right to eat.
Castro blames all of his government's failed economic
policies on the U.S. embargo but it is not U.S. policy, Mr.
Chairman, which is responsible for the dismal failure of Cuban
agriculture and its inability to feed its own people. A country
rich in agricultural potential with plentiful supplies of labor
cannot supply its own population with meat and has imported
most of its rice, beans and even fish for the past 40 years.
The United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization, the
FAO, estimates that 13 percent of the Cuban population is
chronically undernourished. The World Food Program has found
some serious deficiencies in dietary intake in eastern Cuba
where the average diet provides less than 80 percent of the
minimum level of proteins, less than 50 percent of the
necessary fats and insufficient vitamin and mineral intake for
sustained health.
As President Bush said on October 10, ``Clearly the Castro
regime will not change by its own choice but Cuba must
change.'' In announcing new initiatives to hasten the arrival
of a new, free, democratic Cuba, President Bush announced that
he will establish a Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba to
plan for the happy day when Castro's regime is no more and
democracy flourishes on the island. Assistant Secretary Noriega
has outlined the purposes of the Commission.
Mr. Chairman, I wish to take this opportunity to thank you
for your continued support and that of the committee for
USAID's efforts to promote rapid, peaceful transition in Cuba
and I again wish to thank you for the opportunity to appear
before the committee this afternoon.
I welcome any questions you and the other distinguished
members of the committee may have for me.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Franco follows:]
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Mr. Burton. Thank you very much, Mr. Franco.
Mr. Newcomb.
Mr. Newcomb. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the
committee. I am pleased to be here this afternoon.
With your permission, I would like to enter my full
statement in the record and briefly summarize my remarks.
Today's hearing is especially timely. Last Friday,
Assistant Secretary Noriega and I joined President Bush in the
Rose Garden where he announced a number of new initiatives to
assist the Cuban people in their struggle for democracy and to
prepare for the happy day when Fidel Castro's tyrannical regime
falls and the Cuban people can at last know freedom. In his
speech, the President called for increased enforcement of
travel restrictions to ensure that permitted travel to Cuba
such as visits to relatives or humanitarian missions are not
abused for illegal business trips or tourism.
Mr. Chairman, while illegal travel to Cuba, especially
tourist travel, may seem harmless, it is in fact an important
source of revenue for the Castro regime. A dollar paid to a
tourist hotel in Cuba goes mostly to the regime, leaving only
pennies and worthless pesos for the workers. Tourist dollars
provide vital hard currency that Castro and his cronies use to
continue to oppress Cuba. President Bush said it best on
Friday, ``Illegal tourism perpetuates the misery of the Cuban
people.''
The Office of Foreign Assets Control looks forward to
working with the Departments of State and Homeland Security to
answer the President's call to step up the enforcement of
illegal travel to Cuba and to deny Fidel Castro the financial
wherewithal to perpetuate the disparities visited on the Cuban
people for more than four decades. As in the past, we will work
closely with the Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of
Customs and Border Protection at all ports but in particular,
JFK, LAX and Miami where charter flights to Cuba operate under
OFAC license. We will also coordinate closely with Homeland
Security at other locations used by unlicensed travelers and
remittance couriers to travel to and from Cuba via third
countries. In addition, we will also enhance our investigation
and enforcement efforts against individuals and companies that
provide travel and remittance services to Cuba without a proper
license.
Already in response to the President's announcement,
Customs and Border Protection inspectors have stepped up their
efforts in examining nearly all the charter flights departing
from Miami. OFAC personnel will work closely with Homeland
Security to have similar levels of scrutiny at other ports of
departure to Cuba, JFK, LAX and the other locations in the
United States and abroad used as third country transit points
by Americans for travel to Cuba.
In one operation just this last weekend, inspectors seized
approximately $10,000 in unlicensed currency from a charter
flight passenger. I am also pleased to report that just this
afternoon, we at Treasury hosted an interagency meeting with
Homeland Security, State Department, Commerce and the U.S.
Coast Guard officials to develop an effective enforcement
strategy to ensure that this program is implemented fully and
effectively on a nationwide basis. We will provide training,
advice and assistance to inspectors at all affected U.S. ports.
We have procedures in place with Homeland Security to receive
currency seizure reports and to take appropriate penalty action
against violators and work with our interagency partners to
refine enforcement strategies and operations to achieve maximum
results in coordination with the U.S. attorneys identifying
promising cases for criminal prosecution of embargo violations.
With regard to licensing, we eliminated altogether a
category of travel related to non-accredited educational
exchanges where licenses were largely being abused to pursue
tourist activity. Following through on a commitment I made at a
congressional hearing last year, we published in the Federal
Register the comprehensive guidelines for license applications
to engage in travel-related transactions involving Cuba on our
Web site in April of this year, providing clearly articulated
criteria for applying for licenses pursuant to each of 11
categories of activities for which specific license may be
granted. Examples offer include additional guidance to
applicants in furtherance of our goal to promote transparency
and understanding by the public of our administrative process.
Criteria set forth in these guidelines seek to more strictly
define licensing parameters and criteria and to ensure that
existing policy is clear and properly carried out through our
licensing process. In particular, these guidelines seek to
eliminate the abusive practice of allowing unaffiliated persons
to travel under a license issued to another party and ensure
that there exists a sufficient nexus between the qualifications
of persons traveling under the authority of a license and the
full-time agenda of authorized activities they will engage in
while in Cuba.
We will continue to monitor activities of licensed
travelers to ensure that conduct does not deviate from that
which has been authorized. Licenses themselves may also be
suspended and revoked with their parameters are not met or are
otherwise violated.
At OFAC, we are also involved in the process of carrying
out a statutory mandate involving the initiation of hearings
before administrative law judges on the imposition of civil
penalties for engaging in unauthorized travel related
transactions. I have forwarded just recently more than 50
hearing requests to the Treasury General Counsel's Office for
hearings before these ALJs. In short and in summary, we at OFAC
are well positioned to implement fully and with alacrity the
new enforcement policy announced last week by the President.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I look forward to any questions
you may have.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Newcomb follows:]
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Mr. Burton. Thank you, Mr. Newcomb.
You are going to try to clamp down on tourism through third
countries, is that correct?
Mr. Noriega. Yes, sir, that is the plan. It is well known
that many people travel going through Mexico, Central American
flights or Caribbean flights travel to Cuba in contravention of
travel restrictions. We will be taking steps and perhaps Mr.
Newcomb can address this more explicitly, taking steps to
inspect persons who are returning to the United States from
these locations.
Mr. Burton. How do you do that? Do they stamp the visas
when they go into Cuba?
Mr. Noriega. It is my understanding that generally they
don't. You can inspect persons, run them through Customs.
Mr. Burton. So it would be hard to have documented evidence
if they went to Cuba than if you had some visual evidence. How
do you catch them?
Mr. Noriega. Perhaps Mr. Newcomb can address it but you can
do Customs inspections.
Mr. Newcomb. Just this afternoon, we had a fairly detailed
discussion of exactly that issue. I don't want to go into too
much detail lest I reveal sources and methods of law
enforcement type activities. As information comes in, we are
going to work with Homeland Security to make sure these third
country ports are flagged for Homeland Security so that we have
good information of where to deploy people and resources.
What is interesting is there are Web sites from non-U.S.
service providers who seek to alert people where it is a safer
place to go, so we are going to be mindful of these Web sites
as well and work smart with each other to ensure if we need to
deploy enforcement personnel or to look at one port as opposed
to another, we are sort of on the spot and are able to respond
effectively.
Mr. Burton. So you are going to use the Internet and other
things to catch them?
Mr. Newcomb. We are going to try to stay as smart as they
are. We are going to try to put plugs where the plugs need to
go.
Mr. Burton. I have one more question for you, Mr. Noriega.
Title III, you knew I was going to ask about that. We put that
in there to put the hammer on people doing business in Cuba,
buying and selling property confiscated by the Castro regime.
President Clinton and now President Bush chose not to utilize
Title III. Can you tell us if the President plans to use it or
will he use that if necessary even though he did waive Title
III?
Mr. Noriega. Yes, the President has this discretion to
waive it every 6 months to extend the waiver. He would have to
make a judgment and justify that judgment in a statement to
Congress justifying his decision every 6 months. The purpose of
my testimony this afternoon in part was to lay out the
rationale for waiving it inasmuch as the international
community is more active than ever in criticizing the Castro
regime. Recognizing that Castro is the problem, I think part of
the reason they are willing to do that is that President Bush
has, through the initiative for a free Cuba, drawn Castro out
in the open and not taken what one would regard as the usual,
sort of punitive measures against the regime but rather,
challenge the regime to take some positive steps and we would
respond with some positive steps as well. So we have sort of
depolarized the issue. There is no longer a U.S.-Cuba
confrontation and there is no longer an excuse for countries in
the world to ignore Castro's abuses by simply saying the reason
for this is U.S. policy because President Bush has challenged
him and said we would make adjustments in the embargo if the
regime would too.
I think the President created this new environment and if
we were to allow lawsuits to be filed under Title III, let the
waiver lapse or not renew the waiver, I think precisely the
opposite would happen. We would see countries which ironically
are among some of the key proponents of change in Cuba, which
might be adversely affected by a Title III decision abandon
their efforts on behalf of a free Cuba. So from the point of
view of the State Department, we think it is more justifiable
than ever to continue that. However, it is the President's
judgment and he has the right and obligation to review that
policy decision every 6 months.
Mr. Burton. You don't have to respond to this but I hope
those people who had their property stolen by Castro and resold
under long term leases, I hope the day comes that they can get
restitution for the theft of their property by this tyrant.
Mr. Newcomb, the Office of Foreign Assets Controls is
charged with enforcing economic and trade sanctions against
Cuba. They have been in place since 1962. In your opinion, how
effective have those sanctions been in prevention of illegal
trade and travel to Cuba?
Mr. Newcomb. Mr. Chairman, in my opinion they have been
very effective. We have a comprehensive economic embargo in
place that applies to all U.S. persons wherever in the world
located. It is my opinion that U.S. companies around the world
understand this and take a very hands-off view toward Cuba.
Of course there are always things we can do better and
enforcing the travel ban and certain activities relating to
remittances as announced by the President are things we are
focusing on in particular, including those steps that I just
laid out earlier this afternoon and developing other strategies
to plug holes where people are taking advantage.
Coming back to my initial answer to your question, as far
as the international trade community, the U.S. trade community,
they are very aware there is this program in place and they are
aware of the enforcement actions that will happen in the
trading environment and are taking appropriate action not to
find themselves in the cross hairs of an enforcement activity.
Mr. Burton. Mr. Franco, when the administration creates
this new Commission for the Assistance to a Free Cuba, do you
know what role USAID will be playing?
Mr. Franco. I understand the President just announced that
on October 10 but the announcement was just of the co-chairs.
Mr. Burton. So you haven't been charged yet?
Mr. Franco. I have a very close working relationship with
Assistant Secretary Noriega and other colleagues at State and I
know the future assistance and transition activities in Cuba
will be important for USAID. The Administrator, Andrew Natsios,
has written extensively about the need to prepare for a
humanitarian response upon the collapse of the regime prior to
assuming his post as Administrator. I have worked with my
colleagues and as that is developed, I believe USAID will be
called upon to be of assistance.
Mr. Burton. Ms. Watson.
Ms. Watson. I want to thank all three of you gentlemen for
coming and sharing with us what you know of your policies and
your plans, your proposals. I took a trip to Cuba. We had 6
hours with Fidel Castro. I found him to be one of the most
intelligent world leaders today. He can talk on any subject
that was raised. We spent our time talking about how we would
improve the quality of life for the people of Cuba. We talked
about infant mortality. He did a statistical equation down to
0.769. I made note while he was talking. One of our members had
been in the Peace Corps in Medellin, Colombia and gave us the
history of Government in Colombia. When I told him I
represented Hollywood and I would like to take him around and
show him, he said, can you get me a star on the Walk of Fame.
When Carol King introduced herself as a songwriter, he said,
``Yes, Tapestry, the longest selling album ever, 8 weeks No. 1
on the charts.'' I said to him, ``Did you do a CIA check on
each one of us?''
So I thought the way to deal with this person is through
the positive kinds of things that he envisioned for his people.
He told us about sending 56,000 Cuban trained doctors who have
to commit to 2 years service in developing countries. He talked
about trying to find a way to educate the disabled, the
developmentally disabled people, the mentally ill people and so
on. We spent 6 hours.
So I guess I would ask this to Deputy Secretary Noriega. Is
there a possibility through the Department of State that we
could have a conference with Fidel Castro here on U.S. property
where we could talk to him about mutual goals because the goals
he said he had for his people were the goals we have for ours.
However, what he does, and I was very, very disappointed to
find out how he cracked down on journalists and the executions.
I said, how can we help you? These things happened after we
left there.
However, could we appeal to his intellect? We went out on
the communes. We went to the medical school. I stopped people I
saw walking around and talked with them. I saw no homelessness
and I didn't see too many starving people, so something is
going on there. Could we have a conference? If we can sit down
and talk about how we are going to get allies to support us in
trying to rebuild Iraq, could we not try to rebuild Cuba by
holding a conference of some of our allies and some of his and
see if we could talk sense? He is a brilliant mind. If none of
you have met him, you ought to. I just think there is a
different approach we could use with him.
I am not forgiving the atrocities. I understand but I think
there is a way to get to this man because he said to us,
listen, on September 11, I offered you landing space, places to
land. When we brought all our aircraft down, he said, I offered
you they could land here in Cuba. He also said, think of what
we could do together in interdiction because all the boats come
through this channel up to the United States with drugs and
that scored with me. I said maybe we could work out something
with this guy.
What are the possibilities of holding a conference,
bringing him on our turf and seeing what we can do to change
what actually is occurring that confronts the goals that I am
sure he wants to reach with communism. What can we do and have
you thought about it?
Mr. Noriega. Representative Watson, I think there is very
little we could do to help him reach his goals for communism
because it is a failed experiment that is doomed to fail. I
would shudder to think that the goals he has for his people are
the goals we have for our people because his people are trapped
in a dictatorship with absolutely no rights where people are
subject to the whim and arbitrary abuse of power by this
dictator.
Incidentally, among the charges for which dissidents are
now serving long prison sentences was meeting with members of
the U.S. Congress, carrying on this precise sort of dialog you
are talking about. I would suggest that the real dialog that is
necessary is Castro with his own people.
Ms. Watson. Would you yield for a minute?
Mr. Noriega. By all means, yes.
Ms. Watson. Can you get to what I am proposing? What do you
think about bringing him here, inviting him to come here and
sitting down? Let us not talk about the form of government
because I don't think we have the right to impose our form but
have you thought about sitting down with this person directly?
Mr. Noriega. Representative Watson, I think that would be--
--
Ms. Watson. Have you thought about it?
Mr. Noriega. I have thought about it and I don't think much
about it. I think it would be a colossal waste of time because
I don't think Castro is interested in changing at all.
Ms. Watson. You gave me the answer that I was seeking.
Let me ask what do you think we could do to improve the
life of the Cuban people? What could we actually do?
Mr. Franco. First, Congresswoman Watson, I just want to
concur fully with Secretary Noriega. With respect to what we
can do, the question should be more importantly what Fidel
Castro can do.
Ms. Watson. No. No. I asked the question that way because I
want you to think along with me. We were told, and I don't know
how true this is, that there have been 650 attempts on his
life.
Mr. Franco. I don't know about that.
Ms. Watson. I am not thinking of a punitive approach. That
is why I am asking you. I am going to go down the line. What
can we do to improve the quality of life for the Cuban people?
Mr. Franco. As a starter since my responsibility is from
the development standpoint and you mentioned you didn't see any
starving people or homeless people in Cuba, in my testimony I
refer to statistics provided by the World Food Program and the
FAO. Those are not U.S. Government controlled organizations by
any stretch of the imagination. They are U.N. organizations.
They have statistics and I would like to meet with you
privately, if you like.
Ms. Watson. Have you been there yourself?
Mr. Franco. No, but I am relying on the studies by the
United Nations organizations that have been there for long
periods of time and have done the studies. They are FAO and
World Food Program studies which we and the other developed
countries of the world rely on. To my knowledge, I don't think
anyone has challenged those statistics but they are alarming in
terms of the deficiencies in Cuba.
If Fidel Castro is really concerned about the well being of
the Cuban people, this administration offered $35 million in
humanitarian assistance after Hurricane Michelle to Cuba,
directly to the Cuban people and that was rejected by the
Castro regime. So what we can do is largely limited because of
the intransigence, the impediments and obstacles places by the
government in the way.
Ms. Watson. Do you want to tell me what we can do?
Mr. Franco. What we can do is what we are doing, promoting
free thinking in Cuba, we are providing food and medicine to
people in Cuba who are doing everything they can to bring about
change on the island. What we cannot do and what we will not do
is help the Government of Cuba.
Ms. Watson. Please, please, don't take me there. I know all
of that. I am trying to see if you have any imagination about
what we might be able to do for the people. You answered part
of the question.
Mr. Noriega. May I address that same question?
Ms. Watson. Yes. I wanted to hear from Mr. Newcomb.
Mr. Burton. Mr. Newcomb, she addressed that question to
you.
Mr. Newcomb. I am sorry, could you repeat your question?
Ms. Watson. Yes, very simple. What can we do to help the
people of Cuba?
Mr. Newcomb. Let me make a few observations. Again, I am
charged with enforcement of the embargo not with policy. I
certainly associate myself with the comments of Mr. Noriega.
The observations I have are built on the wealth of experience I
have had over the years of hearing people that are applicants
for licenses, people in congressional hearings and so forth.
My guess is you saw what Fidel Castro wanted you to see.
People that go to the tourist hotels see what he wants people
to see. There is still an oppressed class that people don't
see. We have had many programs. We have had people to people
exchanges; we have had support for the Cuban people but what
this boils down to is working through a government channel.
Everything has to go through him. He controls everything. He
controls the thought, he controls the agenda. We have tried
this numerous times, programs going back years, to try to get
things like you are speaking about and people to people, it
doesn't end up that way. It ends up people to government.
Support for the Cuban people ends up support for the Cuban
Government. He is in the middle of it all.
That would be my initial reaction to your thoughts.
Mr. Burton. Thank you, Mr. Newcomb.
We will come back if you have more questions, Ms. Watson.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen.
Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman, and I
thank the witnesses here today for your testimony. I regret
that after this brief exchange I have to go to a subcommittee
hearing on Iraq, so I will not be here for the second panel. I
apologize for that.
As you gentlemen know, because you are very familiar with
Cuban policy, you are the experts, my congressional district
has a very high number of Cuban Americans, a high number of
people who come from the island of Cuba. I don't need to go to
the island of Cuba to know what is going on there because it is
in my district. They literally are dying to come to the United
States. After 44 years of dictatorial rule of Fidel Castro, the
Cuban people still love the United States, even though they
have been hearing this propaganda for all these years because
they know the United States is their friend, they know here
they have freedom, they have hope, they have opportunity, they
have democracy. I know about the situation in Cuba without
reading the reports that Mr. Franco has referred to and they
are impartial reports. I know that the Cuban people are hungry,
malnourished, have inadequate health care because those are my
constituents. They arrived on the boat yesterday and they died
coming to the United States. I represent from Miami Beach all
the way down to Key West to the southernmost point of the
United States. I see this tragedy each and every day. What is
incredible is they are young people. These are the people who
have only known Fidel Castro. These are people who come from
the revolution who should be worshiping Castro and instead they
are coming here to the United States because they know that
propaganda is false. They know the United States is the most
humanitarian country in the world.
As all of us know, if you put all of the countries together
and all of the humanitarian aid, all those countries that love
the Cuban people so much, if you put all of their aid together,
food and medicine, it does not equal the amount of food and
medicine the United States brings to the Cuban people. Forty-
four years of economic entanglements and engagement with Fidel
Castro, that Europe, the Canadians, the Mexicans, you name it,
every country in the world except for the United States deals
with Castro, how are the Cuban people any closer to freedom?
How are they any closer to democracy? How are they any closer
to having their human rights respected?
For people to say it is our embargo that is hurting the
Cuban people, I say, well, what has economic engagement with
Castro brought to the Cuban people? They are hungry. They are
lacking in health care. I have family members in Cuba. I know.
I represent those people because they come ashore every day.
Does our U.S. embargo say don't hold free elections? Of
course it doesn't. Castro is the one who doesn't hold free
elections. Does our Cuban policy say don't have multi-party
systems? No, it is Fidel Castro who says there will only be one
party, the Communist Party. Does our embargo say to Castro,
don't have free press? No. There are only two newspapers
sanctioned by the Castro press. Does it say do not have any
free media? No. There is only state-sponsored television that
is being allowed to be seen by the Cuban people. In fact, if
you are Cuban and you give an interview to a non-sanctioned
newspaper or media outlet, it is a crime in Cuba. It is not
U.S. policy that is keeping the people of Cuba hungry and
hungry for freedom. It is Castro's failed policy.
I recognize that some of our congressional members have
gone to visit with the dictator and they certainly eat a
wonderful meal. I wish my family in Cuba would have half of
that meal. I know Ms. Watson went. I am sure they had a
scrumptious meal. Castro is not hungry and he does not lack for
adequate health care. When my family member has to go to the
hospital, they bring bed sheets, they bring soap, they have to
bring medicine and they have to bring the light bulb for the
operating room and for their room. That is real and that is
true.
The visitors who go stay in nice hotels. Cuban people can't
even go to those hotels, even if they could afford it. Cuban
workers get paid by Castro in worthless pesos but the investor
pays Castro in dollars and the Cuban worker gets a pittance.
I just wanted to clarify from a different perspective, not
to take anything away from what Ms. Watson rightfully said but
from a person who not only was born in Cuba but lives with it
every day because the people I represent are from that country
and my newest arrival probably got here yesterday and loves the
United States and hates the Castro regime but that Cuban
arrival last week was probably in a mass rally saying down with
these Yankee imperialist pigs, down with the embargo but you
give that person anything that floats, this little thing, and
they will try to come over here and join us because they know
the United States loves freedom. That is all they want. That is
what I want for my children and I know that is what all Cuban
families want for their children.
I want to thank the three of you for your testimony and for
the work that you do each and every day. I know that it is
tough. I know it is tough to go before the committees and you
have work to do but you come here and testify and fight the
good fight. Thank goodness we have you there because if not,
sanctions would have been lifted and the Cuban people when they
are there, they say, yes, lift those sanctions. When they come
here, they say, no, we are fine, that is fine, don't worry
about it. That is the reason we are elected from our
constituency. Otherwise you would have other people who would
be espousing other points of view but we are elected from our
community so we know what our community thinks. We thank you
for your valuable service. I know it is tough every day.
Thank you.
Mr. Burton. Thank you.
We are going to let you guys go but I just wanted to say to
Ms. Watson, who is a dear friend of mine. I love her dearly. I
am going out to California to have a hearing with her on
another subject but I am going to buy her a book. It is called
``Against All Hope'' by Armando Valadares. I was reading it on
a plane and I started crying. The guy next to me thought I was
dying or something and I said, no, it is just about this book.
If you read that book and see what Armando Valadares, who was a
supporter of the regime when they took over, you will find it
really is a tragedy some of the things going on down there.
Any final comments you would like to make quickly?
Mr. Noriega. Two seconds. First off, when we come up here
to testify, we are working and we recognize this is an
important part of our responsibility to come up and be
accountable to Congress.
The second thing I would say is that the Project Varela is
precisely about asking the Cuban people how to make their lives
better and giving them a role in making that decision. Castro
has come to New York, he is not big on dialog, he is very big
on monolog but he has had opportunities. He has had his say.
The Cuban people are the ones who should have their say.
At any rate, I thank you for the opportunity and would look
forward to continuing this dialog with you, Ms. Watson.
Mr. Burton. Thank you, gentlemen.
Our next panel is: Mr. Frank Calzon, executive director,
Center for a Free Cuba; Mr. Eric Olson, advocacy director for
the Americas, Amnesty International; and Mr. Tom Malinowski,
Washington advocacy director, Human Rights Watch. We have three
people who are dealing with the question of human rights. We
really appreciate your being here. Please remain standing so I
can swear you.
[Witnesses sworn.]
Mr. Burton. The hardest one to start is Mr. Malinowski, so
why don't we start with you.
STATEMENTS OF FRANK CALZON, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR A
FREE CUBA; ERIC OLSON, ADVOCACY DIRECTOR FOR THE AMERICAS,
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL; AND TOM MALINOWSKI, WASHINGTON ADVOCACY
DIRECTOR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
Mr. Malinowski. Thank you, Mr. Chairman and Ms. Watson, for
the opportunity to come and testify before you and for your
leadership on so many human rights issues, including this one.
Thank you for keeping the spotlight on human rights in Cuba.
My organization has been working on human rights violations
in Cuba for many years. I go into some of the tragic,
depressing detail about the situation in my written testimony.
I won't dwell on all of it here except to say that this year's
crackdown on political dissent in Cuba which a number of
others, including you, have mentioned was really the worse we
have seen in a decade or more there, over 75 courageous men and
women, dissidents, sentenced to an average of 19 years in
prison in sham trials over just a period of about 4 days for
nothing more than expressing their desire to live in a more
democratic society. This is a merciless dictatorship at work
and I completely agree with your characterization of the Castro
government and its abuses, Mr. Chairman.
I think even critics of the embargo need to acknowledge
that none of this crackdown, none of this horror is in any way
the fault of the United States or the fault of the embargo. The
responsibility lies with Castro and his government period, and
we all need to acknowledge that. We should also agree that this
is no time to reward Fidel Castro, this is a time for
maximizing effective pressure on his government.
The question before us, and we need to be very tough minded
in assessing this is whether the current embargo as it is
currently constituted is the best way of maximizing that
pressure. In my view, with all respect to people on both sides
of this debate who share those goals, it is not. I say that
someone who usually supports targeted sanctions against abusive
governments. For example, my organization applauded the
Congress a few weeks ago when you all imposed tough economic
sanctions on Burma and we are very skeptical of arguments the
trade with America or exposure to American values in and of
itself can somehow convince repressive governments to be kinder
and gentler to their people.
It does seem to me that any American policy designed to
promote human rights in a country like Cuba has to meet a
couple of basic tests. First of all, does that policy advance
the interests of those who are struggling to promote human
rights in the country concerned. Is it more likely to be
effective than the alternatives? I think the current policy
does not meet those tests.
First of all, many of the dissidents we have been talking
about here throughout this hearing in Cuba believe that the
embargo as currently constituted does go too far, including
Oswaldo Paya, the leader of the Varela Project. These are the
Havels and Walesas of Cuba and just as we heeded them in the
1980's when they were struggling for freedom in the former
Soviet Union, I think we do need to bring their voice into this
discussion as well in terms of what is the best American
policy.
Why do they feel this way? First of all, they see the
embargo as being indiscriminant rather than targeted so it
enables Castro to shift the blame to the United States for the
Cuban people suffering wrongly but effectively. Second, it
isolates the Cuban people from the world making it easier for
the government to control what they see, hear and know.
Finally, and most importantly, it is bitterly opposed by most
nations. So it enables Castro to divide the international
community. Again, I am for maximizing international pressure
but I think the irony of the embargo as we have it now is that
it leads to less international pressure, not more, on Cuba.
At the same time, I wouldn't argue that simply ending or
relaxing the embargo would be an effective strategy either.
Simply having American tourist joining the Canadians and
Europeans on Cuban beaches or American CEOs joining the
Europeans signing contracts isn't going to make a profound
positive difference either. There does need to be carefully
targeted, multilateral pressure and middle ground between
unquestioning engagement on the one hand and an all or nothing
approach that plays into Castro's hands on the other.
We need to ask what does Castro fear most from the United
States? I don't think it is the continuation of the embargo. I
don't think it is the demise of the embargo either. I think
what he fears most is the prospect that the United States might
some day get together with Latin America, with Europe, with
Canada on a common, effective strategy for defending the rights
of the Cuban people. That is what I think we need to work
toward, focusing not so much on Havana as the target of our
policies initially but on the Europeans, the Canadians and the
other Latin American democracies to forge that kind of
strategy.
I think we have more of an opportunity now because of the
growing international opposition to this crackdown. We need to
be urging Latin democracies to speak forcefully against
political repression in Cuba to stop backing Cuban membership
in bodies like the U.N. Commission for Human Rights. We should
be pressing Latin American diplomats to meet with Cuban
dissidents, we should be urging European countries to impose on
Cuba the same kinds of targeted economic sanctions including a
visa ban, for example, and an asset freeze as they have imposed
on Burma and Zimbabwe and other similarly oppressive countries.
We should be working with them to develop common rules
governing economic investment and tourism, rules that would
diminish the Cuban state over the Cuban peoples' lives.
Let me say one word about the tourism issue because I know
it is central right now. I totally agree that the Castro
government has a death grip on the Cuban economy and the Cuban
people don't really benefit from the tourist dollars going into
Cuba because they control the employment of the workers and
every dollar goes into the coffers of the regime. The question
is how do you change that? I don't think you necessarily change
it simply by taking away from Cuba the small trickle of
American tourists that are going in there because you are still
going to have a stream of Europeans and Canadians doing exactly
the same thing with no incentive for Castro to change.
I think you are much more likely to change it if you can
get together with the Europeans, Canadians and others and press
the Castro government for a different set of rules. We have
leverage acting together, we don't have that kind of leverage
alone.
I think the problem with the embargo and the key argument
for beginning to think about it anew is that it makes the
United States impotent in pressing its allies for these kinds
of tougher measures. I think the Bush administration knows this
and in many ways it has barely tried to forge that kind of
coalition, despite the clear commitment of folks like
Ambassador Noriega. For example, last year or earlier this
year, it made virtually no effort to convince Latin American
countries to get Cuba off the Human Rights Commission. It knew
it would fail because Castro has succeeded in making this
embargo a bigger issue than his own repression.
Again, in summary, I think the goal ought to be not a
policy of no sanctions but a middle path that isolates the
Cuban Government, not the Cuban people. I fear that so long as
we are unwilling to climb down to that kind of tough but
sensible policy, it is going to be harder to convince our
allies to rise up to it.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Malinowski follows:]
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Mr. Burton. That is very interesting and we will talk
further.
Mr. Olson.
Mr. Olson. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for the opportunity to
testify today. I want to thank you and Representative Watson
for your probing questions that are forcing us to think
creatively about what seems to be an intractable problem in
Cuba.
Amnesty International has been monitoring the human rights
situation in Cuba since the early 1960's and we have extensive
reporting about the human rights situation there.
Unfortunately, like our colleagues at Human Rights Watch, our
access to the island has been severely limited. In recent years
we have not been able to do an onsite, in person visit there
since 1988, so we have had to rely on other sources of
information to try to report on the human rights situation
there.
The crackdown on political dissidents that began on March
18 and the execution of three would-be hijackers on April 11
are alarming and deeply disappointing occurrences that Amnesty
International has denounced locally and publicly. Sadly they
represent the latest chapter in a long line of grave human
rights violations committed by the Government of Cuba. On the
basis of the information currently available, Amnesty
International considers the newly detained prisoners to be what
we call prisoners of conscience. As a result, the number of
confirmed prisoners of conscience in Cuba has risen from 6, 2
years ago, to 89 today.
What distinguishes this crackdown from many other previous
examples of mass arrest is not the number, however, which is
unusually large, but the laws that were used to convict the
dissidents and the summary trials and very harsh sentences
handed down shortly after the detentions took place. Among the
latest group of dissidents arrested, 75 have received sentences
ranging from 6 to 27 years. Some of the prisoners were
convicted under the law for the protection of the national
independence and economy of Cuba, known as Law 88 passed in
February 1999. Though passed in 1999, this crackdown marks the
first time that the provisions of Law 88 have been applied to
criminal proceedings in Cuba. Law 88 itself is presented as a
Cuban response to perceived U.S. aggression and the crackdown
as a reaction to a U.S.-led rather than domestic threat.
Nevertheless, Amnesty International believes the law places
unlawful restrictions on internationally recognized rights such
as the freedom of expression. Furthermore, the Cuban
constitution itself places clearly excessive limits on the
exercise of fundamental freedom. The exercise of fundamental
freedoms in ways that are perceived to be against the Cuban
system are not constitutionally protected. Anybody who works or
expresses his opinion that is perceived as being against the
system has no constitutional protection in Cuba. Law 88 and
other laws within the Cuban system place further restrictions
on these freedoms in violation, we believe, of international
standards.
Law 88 calls for sentences of 7 to 15 years in prison for
passing information to the United States that could be used to
bolster anti-Cuban measures such as the U.S. economic embargo.
The punishment can rise to 20 years if the information is
acquired surreptitiously. The legislation also bans the
ownership, distribution or reproduction of ``subversive
materials from the U.S. Government'' and proposes terms of
imprisonment of up to 5 years for collaborating with radio and
TV stations and publications deemed to be assisting U.S.
policy.
I should note that one of the people detained was actually
tried and sentenced in part because he was giving information
to Amnesty International. That is the level of restriction on
the free expression and association of people.
The question here though is not before in this committee,
it is not just how bad is the situation in Cuba but in fact,
what the United States should do about it. The recent crackdown
is a continuation of Cuban Government policy of detaining
people for their political, religious and other conscientiously
held beliefs and to restrict the freedom of expression and
association both in law and in practice. The modest signs of
tolerance that existed just a couple of years ago have now been
swept away. In this context, Amnesty International feels it is
important to carefully consider policy options that could
effectively contribute to improving human rights in Cuba. What
is it in fact that is going to improve human rights there? Part
of Amnesty International's mission is to make recommendations
to the Government on how this can in fact happen.
In the interest of time, I am not going to go over all the
recommendations here that we have given to the Cuban
Government. It is found in my formal statement.
Mr. Burton. You can submit those for the record.
Mr. Olson. They have been submitted for the record. There
is a number of them and I don't want to imply that we are being
light on the Cuban Government. We have over 15 recommendations
here specifically to the Cuban Government. Maybe a bit in
answer to Ms. Watson's questions as well, I did want to mention
what we thought are key recommendations to the United States.
Amnesty International urges the U.S. Government to place
human rights concerns at the center of its decisionmaking on
Cuba. The United States should take into account the impact its
policies will have on day to day life for average Cubans and
their enjoyment of basis human rights. AI is particularly
concerned about measures that the United States might consider
that could spark humanitarian crises in Cuba. Such a crises may
lead to worsening of the human rights situation. AI rejects
proposals that would worsen humanitarian conditions in Cuba and
are aimed at destablizing the country. Political instability
and humanitarian crises place civilians at risk of further
human rights violations and should not be considered as an
option.
AI encourages the U.S. Government to reconsider the wisdom
and efficacy of its economic embargo on Cuba. The 40-plus years
of the embargo does not appear to have the intended consequence
of punishing Castro, nor has it contributed to a betterment of
human rights in Cuba. In some instances, it has had negative
impacts on human rights. The embargo has had ramifications not
only on economic and social rights, but also it has been used
by Cuban officials who cite it as a justification for
repressive measures.
Amnesty International recommends that the United States
look seriously at ways to in fact reduce hostilities with Cuba
and to lower the tensions that contributed to the broader
negative political context for the latest crackdown. I think
there is a variety of ways in which we can seek to lower the
tensions between the countries. Amnesty doesn't believe that
means total withdrawal of the embargo as Mr. Malinowski has
said but that we need to see the embargo is having a
potentially detrimental effect on the average Cuban in Cuba.
Thank you and I will leave it at that. I welcome your
questions.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Olson follows:]
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Mr. Burton. Thank you, Mr. Olson.
Mr. Calzon, I know you are just chomping at the bit because
you probably have a little different approach, so we recognize
you, sir.
Mr. Calzon. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am delighted to be
here to appear before you on behalf of the Center for a Free
Cuba. As most Cuban Americans could tell you, you are a hero
not only to Cuban Americans but many people inside Cuba.
I am also pleased to appear before Congresswoman Watson
whose experience as an ambassador provides an important
dimension to her work in the Congress.
I would like to ask that my full statement be placed in the
record and take just a minute because I don't know if it will
come up in the question and answer period to make a couple of
brief comments.
I am by training a political scientist and I have written a
number of pieces on the American Revolution and I wasn't there,
so that is one of the misconceptions, one of the fallacies of
social science that says that you have to be there. Sometimes
from far away you could have a better idea of what is happening
in one place than discussing the issue with the dictator for 6
hours but that is just a minor point.
On the issue of the infant mortality rate, I was always
intrigued by that. I talked to a number of Cuban doctors. You
should be aware of one fact. Mr. Castro not only manipulates
statistics and Cuban women who have a problem pregnancy are
encouraged to have an abortion because when you have an
abortion, that does not show up in the infant mortality rate.
Mr. Castro has been in power for over 40 years and the Cubans
have begin to act following the advice of the Holy Father.
Castro has responded by declaring Cuba's socialism irrevocable
and untouchable. I do not share the views of some of the other
witnesses that you have to concentrate so much on the United
States and Cuba. The problem has never been Cuban and the
United States.
Mr. Castro is willing to talk about Cuba with President
Carter, he is willing to talk about Cuba with the King of Spain
and willing to talk with Members of Congress. You talk about
imposing your views or the United States imposing its views.
One way of not imposing America's views is to encourage Mr.
Castro to meet with Cuban bishops and to allow Cubans in Cuba
to do what we are doing here.
So the whole idea of trying to determine Cuba's problems
between some foreigners and the Cuban dictator, I don't think
the Cuban people really like that.
On the issue of the impact of the embargo, in Cuba there
are shortages of oranges. Are we going to ship oranges from
Florida? There are shortages of fish. Are we going to send it
from Maine? The whole idea is that when I met with President
Havel of the Czech Republic, I said when did the shortages end
here? Did they end with trade with the West? He said, no, they
ended with the end of communism and the same thing will happen
in Cuba. There is a tendency to blame the United States for
everything that happens in the world. Cuba, Mr. Castro has a
great responsibility.
When a child is sick in Cuba and a father goes to a
pharmacy, there are no medicines there but when a foreigner
goes to Cuba, the medicine is there. The hotels where
foreigners stay are segregated, Congresswoman, and the
restaurants and clinics. In this country, Martin Luther King
had a major campaign so that anybody could go to a restaurant.
As a Cuban, I think I would hope that Americans could travel
anywhere they want. If Americans go to Cuba and subsidize
apartheid in Cuba, I am not in favor of tourists going to Cuba.
If they go to Cuba and they say to Mr. Castro, let the Cubans
have the same rights that foreigners have in Cuba, how come a
foreigner can have a restaurant, a foreigner can have an
enterprise and Cubans cannot? Cubans don't have a right to go
to a hotel and an American Congresswoman can go and stay in
those hotels? I don't know. I see something wrong with that.
Beyond that, I do have a number of recommendations in the
paper, including placing a C-130 in the Florida Straits so that
TV Marti can be seen in Cuba. I have another recommendation. I
think Ms. Watson and Chairman Burton ought to do more of these.
I think it is important for the American people to learn, for
example, that there are FBI fugitives in Cuba that Castro has
given safe haven to American murders who kill American police
officers. You ought to call the Justice Department and they
will send you the list. Those are some of the facts, not the
rhetoric that I think ought to be brought to the attention of
the Congress and the American people.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Calzon follows:]
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Mr. Burton. Thank you, Mr. Calzon. I wish you would tell us
what you really think. You have been a good friend for a long
time and I appreciate your comments.
Let me ask a few questions and then I will yield to my
colleague who I know has some questions.
Mr. Malinowski, I know this is a dangerous question to ask
you but what kind of changes or proposals are you talking about
in the embargo that you think would be beneficial?
Mr. Malinowski. I would start very gradually. I wouldn't
throw the whole thing out.
Mr. Burton. I don't think that is going to happen.
Mr. Malinowski. Honestly, I would start with the travel ban
and I would do it not to send some message to Castro or to
appeal to his goodwill because I don't believe in his goodwill,
I would use it as the basis for sitting down with our allies in
Europe, in Latin America, in Canada, the key players in this,
to try to forge a common strategy and a common policy. We don't
have that right now and we need it.
Mr. Burton. Let me ask you a question regarding your
answer. Right now if an American or anybody in the world goes
to a resort in Cuba, they pay in dollars. The people who work
there who are Cubans can't stay there, they come and work
during the day and have to go home. They can't be there except
to work. They are not paid in dollars, the dollars go to the
Cuban Government and they pay them in pesos. I have been told
that people who make $400 or $500 a month at a resort would get
about 500 pesos which would be somewhere between $5 and $10 a
month to live on. How could they benefit if we allowed tourism
to go to Cuba? It would certainly increase the amount of money
going to the hotels and hence to the Cuban Government but I am
not sure it would help the quality of life for the Cuban
people.
Mr. Malinowski. First of all, I completely agree with you.
The situation you describe though is completely the same as the
situation we faced in the former Soviet Union in Poland,
Czechoslovakia and Hungary in the darkest days of communism.
Even then we never restricted the rights of Americans to travel
to those countries which was a modestly beneficial thing in the
sense that it also allowed organizations like mine and Amnesty
International and others to go in under the cover of tourism to
do some very good work with dissidents.
My central point and my main response to your question is
that we need to ask how do we change the state of affairs that
you describe? How do we change the system that robs the workers
of those hotels of their livelihood and that denies us the
ability to create a little bit of private free space as exists,
for example, in free enterprises in China, distinct from Cuba
where you actually can have a different kind of relationship
between employees and employers.
I don't think the United States has the leverage to change
that state of affairs by itself. We don't have that kind of
economic leverage with Cuba. We do have it potentially if we
could act in concert with our allies, with the Europeans, the
Canadians, the investors and joint ventures. We could together
demand that the Cuban Government change those rules. I would be
for a very tough mined policy but one that is multilateral
because I think it would be more effective.
Mr. Burton. Mr. Olson, you indicated that you get your
information on human rights violations in a different kind of
way because you can't converse directly with the people who are
in the prisons as political prisoners. How do you get that
information?
Mr. Olson. Through a variety of sources, through people in
Cuba who share information with us, some family members, other
NGO's that operate there, people who travel back and forth that
provide us information. Frankly, it might seem surprising but
even on these cases of the 75 people that were arrested,
detained and jailed, we got a healthy amount of official court
records that allowed us to carefully analyze the legal
proceedings, the laws being used, the charges against them.
Mr. Burton. It was 4 days, wasn't it?
Mr. Olson. Yes, it was less than a week.
Mr. Burton. So it was kind of a sham?
Mr. Olson. Absolutely. Totally a sham and that is why we
have been able to look at the kinds of laws used, the kinds of
accusations against people which we believe are completely
inconsistent with any international standard of human rights.
Mr. Burton. Mr. Calzon, you heard those two responses. Why
don't you respond to those two questions about lifting the
embargo somewhat so that tourists can go there? Would that help
the quality of life of Cubans?
Mr. Calzon. Mr. Chairman, it would be my hope that some day
we could come to some of these hearings and deal with the facts
and then we could disagree on what the facts mean. For example,
when dealing with tourism, not only do the tourist dollars go
to the Cuban Government but go the worst agencies of the Cuban
Government. A big part of the tourist industry in Cuba is under
CAVIOTA. CAVIOTA is a front company for the Cuban secret police
and the Cuban armed forces. So not only the dollars go to
Castro but the dollars go to the agencies there to oppress the
Cuban people. If anything I say here today is incorrect, I am
sure the other witnesses will correct it.
The other thing is when you deal with Eastern Europe and
you say the embargo didn't work in Eastern Europe, if we are
going to look at Eastern Europe, then we have to see what we
did, what the United States did in Eastern Europe. The amount
of resources being used to promote democracy in Cuba are a
very, very tiny percentage of what we used to promote democracy
in Poland, what we used to promote democracy in the Czech
Republic. The idea of simply being nice to Mr. Castro doesn't
work. I think some of the things you have heard, the
information you have heard here today is a little dated. If you
look at what happened this year, for example, why don't we pay
attention to the Europeans? The Europeans three major important
spokesmen for European public opinion are the former Presidents
of the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, Havel and Walesa,
for example. This is what they said. They are not saying the
embargo should be lifted. It says, ``One of the things that
should be done is to put aside transatlantic disputes about the
embargo on Cuba and to concentrate on direct support for Cuban
dissidents, prisoners of conscience and their families.'' We
are talking about putting pressure on the Cuban Government. The
Europeans have done that. The European Union has conditioned
humanitarian assistance to some reform in Cuba. The result, Mr.
Castro told the Europeans he does not need humanitarian
assistance. The people who are hungry are not Mr. Castro.
If you look at country after country, the Germans canceled
their participation in a book fair event; the Dutch are now
going to an art show in Cuba. The Spanish have a major crisis.
Castro, a Cuban dictator, calls Vice President Aznar a little
fuhrer with a little mustache. Mr. Castro called Berlusconi of
Italy ``Benito.'' Mr. Castro says that the Costa Ricans are
lackeys of the United States. There is no real issue today. The
embargo is no longer the issue. The Europeans are putting
pressure on Castro.
As a matter of fact, you talk about conditions, the
Europeans announced a few weeks ago that they are bringing down
the level of contacts between their diplomats and high ranking
Cuban Government officials and instead, they want to increase
contacts with the dissidents. So the suggestion of Ms. Watson
perhaps at another time that would have been a good idea,
President Carter sent folks to Havana to try to reach an
accommodation. Mr. Reagan sent General Walters to try to reach
an accommodation but at time when the Europeans are saying the
policy of engagement has not worked, this is what the Europeans
are saying. They are saying Castro is broke and Mexican banks
froze Cuban assets about a month ago in Europe trying to get
paid.
What I am really saying is at this time when the Europeans
are taking a hard line, this is the time perhaps for Washington
to follow in their steps.
Mr. Burton. Thank you, Mr. Calzon.
We will let Ms. Watson ask some questions and give you
gentlemen all the time you want to respond.
Ms. Watson. I think Mr. Olson, you probably are getting to
some of the points I am concerned about. One of the things I
learned, Mr. Calzon, in my two different training sessions at
the Department of State is how to be a diplomat, how to deal
with people throughout the world whose customs and traditions
and governments are different than ours and how to meet them
and talk with them, not accepting everything but finding common
ground.
So when I asked the question of the first panel, I was just
trying to find out where you were, were your biases in the way
of your vision. I am not going to hold a discussion as to what
degree of badness is living in the heart of Fidel Castro. I
look at deeds. I told you I was terribly disappointed when he
took people and threw them into jail and executed three. I was
horrified when we went to Rotterdam this summer and found a
resolution against the United States for its 796 detainees down
in Guantanamo Bay. I argued against them voting on it, give us
some time to go down there to look at the prisoners we have
taken, to look at their rights and then come back with our own
evaluation and our own amendments. It didn't happen. Only 11
countries out of 96 voted with us; the rest voted against us.
What I was trying to do was find a way that we could correct
the things we did wrong so that we could go about helping
somebody else correct the things they do wrong.
Mr. Olson, you were one of the few on the panel that
pointed out some things that could be done. I am looking at a
way that we could look at our neighbor 90 miles to our
southeast as a productive and good neighbor. I hope we wouldn't
get to the point where we have to go in there to destroy him to
make a change and you don't have to respond. If the three of
you could send me what you feel are your strongest, sincerest
recommendations for dealing with the people of Cuba, that is
who we are concerned about. We want them to have a quality of
life probably not like ours but similar to ours. We want
everybody to have the best quality they can where they live.
So what I would like you to do is think with me, how can we
help the Cuban people. If we set Castro over here, that would
be one thing but with him there, I don't know how he has
survived this long. When you think about it, 44 years, it is
amazing. I really want to know what we can do as a country, as
a State Department, as Amnesty International, as Free Cuba to
really get to a point where we help the Cuban people. You can
put it in writing and I will give my time back to the Chair.
Just give it in writing to me.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Burton. It is almost 5 p.m. and I know you probably
want to get down to one of the eating establishments where all
the wealthy lobbyists hang out. I am kidding.
Mr. Malinowski. We want to eat with Castro.
Mr. Burton. She was telling me they ate at 2 a.m. but the
food was outstanding.
Let me ask, do you have any closing comments any of you
because I saw you had some things you wanted to say, so we will
let you make a closing comment.
Mr. Malinowski. Let me just respond to maybe one thing Mr.
Calzon said. I have to say I am a little bit surprised to hear
you express such satisfaction with European policy toward Cuba.
When I hear about canceling a book fair and an art show, it is
better than what we have seen but it is kind of pathetic. I
think we can do a lot better than that. I think we really need
a much more concentrated, concerted effort focusing on our
allies to try to come together on a more principled, more
effective multilateral policy.
Mr. Burton. Ms. Watson suggested you send to us in writing
some suggestions. I would like to have your suggestions. I
don't know whether we would see eye to eye but I would like to
have them nevertheless.
Mr. Olson, do you have any comments?
Mr. Olson. I was just going to say I appreciate the
challenge you have put before us. I think that is the right
question to be asking and I am eager to respond to you in
writing with some ideas that we have. I just wanted to
underscore because Mr. Calzon always has a way of sticking me
in the side and making me jump, I just want to emphasize that
nobody is talking about being nice to Mr. Castro in any way
whatsoever.
Mr. Burton. In defense of Mr. Calzon, let me just say this.
I have been intimately involved with the Cuban American
Foundation and Cubans for a long, long time. I have gone down
there and met with them and talked with them. I think even
though I am very close to a lot of them as you probably know,
unless you have lived the life, walked the talk, you can't
really know what those people down there are going through. I
think Mr. Calzon and a lot of the Cuban Americans have really
seen firsthand what Fidel Castro does. I think that gives you a
much different perspective, not that your perspectives aren't
something we ought to take a look at but I think their
perspective is something that is obviously going to be a bit
deeper and more understandable.
Yes, Mr. Calzon?
Mr. Calzon. Again, thank you for having us here. One thing.
The Europeans are doing a lot more than I mentioned here. The
Europeans are providing and doing some of the things that were
being done in Eastern Europe. They have to be done quietly.
That is one of the things I do. I try to work with governments
and NGO's from around the world. We care, we would like to help
the people of Cuba.
One final comment. For 11 years, I was a Washington
representative of Freedom House and I went to the U.N.
Commission on Human Rights where the Saudi Arabians used to
tell me that I didn't understand that they had a different
society, and the Chinese, the people in Equatorial Guinea. When
I raised the issue of slavery in Sudan, well you don't
understand, you cannot impose your views. We are talking about
universal values, we are talking about human rights. For the
United States to say to the Cuban dictator, Cubans should have
the right to decide their own destiny, that is the same thing
that we want to do in the rest of the hemisphere, the Soviet
Union and everywhere else.
I do not see and the people in Cuba do not see that as an
imposition. Many people in Cuba were delighted to hear
President Carter on national TV talking about the Varela
Project. One of the things I think the Congress could do is
lend the echo of your voices to the cries for help of the Cuban
people.
Mr. Burton. Very good. If you would send us in writing your
proposed solutions to this and any suggestions, we would really
appreciate it.
Thank you very much and the hearing is adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 5 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned, to
reconvene at the call of the Chair.]
[The prepared statement of Hon. Elijah E. Cummings and
additional information submitted for the hearing record
follows:]
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